National highways to have 11 emergency airstrips – Here are details
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is planning to set up 11 emergency landing airstrips on the national highways across India keeping in mind emergency situations and natural calamity. The first such strip will be set up on National Highway 151 near Khambhaliya of Devbhumi Dwarka district of Gujarat.
“At the time of natural disasters like earthquake, flood and cyclone, air connectivity is the best option to transport relief to affected areas. We have planned to set up 11 emergency landing airstrips across India and the first of it will be set up in Gujarat at Devbhumi Dwarka district,” said Mansukh Mandaviya, Union minister of state for road transport and highways.
The minister said the emergency landing strip is being set up with a total cost of Rs 83.66 crore in Gujarat. The other states that will have similar air strips include Rajasthan, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Jammu & Kashmir. “The Union government has identified 13 roads across the country on which emergency landing is possible. Two of these roads are under respective state control, while the other 11 roads fall under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI),” said Mandaviya.
The length of the strip will be about 5-6 km and it will have a 60-metre-wide concrete road. An inter-ministerial coordination group was formed comprising the Union road transport ministry, defence ministry and the Indian Air Force (IAF). The responsibility of site survey and inspection has been given to the IAF and NHAI.
Mandaviya said, “A standard design has been prepared for the strip, which will have parking slot for four aircraft, an air traffic control tower and two gates will be placed at both the ends of the strip. All hurdles like electricity and telecom poles, trees and dividers will be removed from the road.”
National highways to have 11 emergency airstrips – Here are details
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is planning to set up 11 emergency landing airstrips on the national highways across India keeping in mind emergency situations and natural calamity. The first such strip will be set up on National Highway 151 near Khambhaliya of Devbhumi Dwarka district of Gujarat.
“At the time of natural disasters like earthquake, flood and cyclone, air connectivity is the best option to transport relief to affected areas. We have planned to set up 11 emergency landing airstrips across India and the first of it will be set up in Gujarat at Devbhumi Dwarka district,” said Mansukh Mandaviya, Union minister of state for road transport and highways.
The minister said the emergency landing strip is being set up with a total cost of Rs 83.66 crore in Gujarat. The other states that will have similar air strips include Rajasthan, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Jammu & Kashmir. “The Union government has identified 13 roads across the country on which emergency landing is possible. Two of these roads are under respective state control, while the other 11 roads fall under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI),” said Mandaviya.
The length of the strip will be about 5-6 km and it will have a 60-metre-wide concrete road. An inter-ministerial coordination group was formed comprising the Union road transport ministry, defence ministry and the Indian Air Force (IAF). The responsibility of site survey and inspection has been given to the IAF and NHAI.
Mandaviya said, “A standard design has been prepared for the strip, which will have parking slot for four aircraft, an air traffic control tower and two gates will be placed at both the ends of the strip. All hurdles like electricity and telecom poles, trees and dividers will be removed from the road.”
National highways to have 11 emergency airstrips – Here are details
There are 100s of small airstrips across the nation, which are not operational and are not part of any civilian airport. Only chartered turboprops operates from there for election campaigning by Politician. Can't we use them for this purpose for IAF. Not sure but I heard some 300 such airstrips are there in India.
@randomradio @Milspec @vstol Jockey
No changes in Tejas jet design: IAF Chief – Indian Defence Research Wing
‘Fighting abilities affected’: IAF chief on force’s long association with HAL – Indian Defence Research Wing
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These Two above posted News articles
Are a Scathing Indictment of HAL
There is a lot of mistrust and ill feelings
Between HAL and IAF
No changes in Tejas jet design: IAF Chief – Indian Defence Research Wing
‘Fighting abilities affected’: IAF chief on force’s long association with HAL – Indian Defence Research Wing
-------------------------------------------------------------------
These Two above posted News articles
Are a Scathing Indictment of HAL
There is a lot of mistrust and ill feelings
Between HAL and IAF
HAL is desperate to get the license to manufacture Rafales so that they can eliminate any major competition from coming up. IAF doesn't want that to happen. They want an alternative to HAL. So the hit job from the IAF, but it's completely justified.
Fiberglass mats for quick runway repairs
Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 2
The Indian Air Force would soon be having indigenously developed fiberglass mats that will enable it to undertake rapid repair of runways that have been damaged by enemy bombs during war.
Referred to as foldable fiberglass mats, these are made up of rigid but lightweight and thin panels weaved from fiberglass, polyester and resin and connected together by hinges.
“The feasibility study for developing and inducting the fiberglass mats has been completed and technical specifications and other qualitative requirements are in the process of being finalised,” an IAF officer said.
“This is a new technique that is emerging globally for runway repair and the project figures high in the IAF’s priority list,” he added. The capability can also be used to repair portions of runways damaged during natural disasters.
According to sources, the IAF has projected a requirement of 120-125 foldable fiberglass mat sets per year and the mats are expected to be manufactured by the private industry once the modalities are worked out.
Given their strategic importance and role in carrying out offensive and defensive air operations as well as moving men and material, airfields and runways are high value targets in war and among the first to be hit during outbreak of hostilities. Destruction of airfields also has huge economic repercussion.
IAF officers said the foldable fiberglass mats would be used to level out the top of the crater formed by a bomb after it has first been filled with stones, debris or soil. One foldable fiberglass mat would be able to cover an area of 18 metres by 16 metres.
Most runways have as asphalt surface, similar to a black-topped road, and laying and setting such surfaces, which are several inches thick and have multiple layers to bear the high impact and weight of aircraft, takes several days.
The foldable fiberglass mats overcome this delimiting factor and enable recommencement of air operations within a short span.
Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 2
The Indian Air Force would soon be having indigenously developed fiberglass mats that will enable it to undertake rapid repair of runways that have been damaged by enemy bombs during war.
Referred to as foldable fiberglass mats, these are made up of rigid but lightweight and thin panels weaved from fiberglass, polyester and resin and connected together by hinges.
“The feasibility study for developing and inducting the fiberglass mats has been completed and technical specifications and other qualitative requirements are in the process of being finalised,” an IAF officer said.
“This is a new technique that is emerging globally for runway repair and the project figures high in the IAF’s priority list,” he added. The capability can also be used to repair portions of runways damaged during natural disasters.
According to sources, the IAF has projected a requirement of 120-125 foldable fiberglass mat sets per year and the mats are expected to be manufactured by the private industry once the modalities are worked out.
Given their strategic importance and role in carrying out offensive and defensive air operations as well as moving men and material, airfields and runways are high value targets in war and among the first to be hit during outbreak of hostilities. Destruction of airfields also has huge economic repercussion.
IAF officers said the foldable fiberglass mats would be used to level out the top of the crater formed by a bomb after it has first been filled with stones, debris or soil. One foldable fiberglass mat would be able to cover an area of 18 metres by 16 metres.
Most runways have as asphalt surface, similar to a black-topped road, and laying and setting such surfaces, which are several inches thick and have multiple layers to bear the high impact and weight of aircraft, takes several days.
The foldable fiberglass mats overcome this delimiting factor and enable recommencement of air operations within a short span.
- The IAF has reportedly projected a requirement of 120-125 foldable fiberglass mats sets per year and the mats are expected to be manufactured by the private industry once the modalities are worked out
- The FFMs will be used to level out the top of the crater formed by a bomb after it has first been filled with stones, debris or soil
- One FFM will cover an area of 18 metres by 16 metres
Nearly every aircraft deal had brought windfall bribes to politicians in India starting from Gnat deal of 1956. So they ensured that HAL is never able to realise its full potential and remain tooling agents assembling CKDs. HAL has been used as a source of generating bribes for everyone in the set up. The details as emerging from the recent M2K crash actually give a clean chit to HAL as the aircraft had flown six flights safely before being handed over to the user for trials. And those six flights were done by HAL test Pilots who are also Ex-IAF. I do have a few doubts about the crash.
- What forced the pilots to delay their ejection.
- When did the failure first get detected and did the pilots recognised its consequences well enough?
- Highly trained pilots are known to put all their ability in saving the aircraft , especislly test pilots and therefore end up making judgements which are fatal. But this is what their job demands.
- Most Trainer aircraft have seats which eject sideways and upwards to avoid collission between two pilots. even the zero zero seats have side ways ejection to avoid pilot from falling back on stationary aircraft on ground.
- A good fighter pilot knows when its time to disengage and run for safety in combat and also when to leave a damaged aircraft. It is instictive for us.
- I survived two ejections and both were delayed ejections outside the safe ejection limits of the ejection seat as laid down by Martin Baker and suffered serious injuries as a result.